Influence of temperature on glucose utilization by Pseudomonas fluorescens.

The influence of temperature on the conversion of glucose into cell material and into energy for maintenance was determined for Pseudomonas fluorescens by a steady-state turbidity method and by a substrate utilization method. Conversion of glucose into cell material was measured as yield; conversion of glucose into energy for maintenance was measured as specific maintenance, the minimum dilution rate in continuous culture below which a steady state is not possible. The values obtained by the two methods were nearly identical; with both, the yield and specific maintenance decreased with decreasing temperature. The specific maintenance consumption rate (milligrams of glucose taken up per milligram of cell dry weight per hour at zero growth) was also calculated by the substrate utilization method and found to decrease with decreasing temperature. However, the amount of glucose consumed per generation for maintenance increased with decreasing temperature. This increased glucose consumption for maintenance may provide a partial explanation for the decrease in yield at low temperatures. Small amounts of glucose were also converted into pigment at all temperatures tested, with the greatest amount formed at 20 C.